The ones who look a tad bit adorable, a whole lot mischievous, and a heaping helping of trouble??
Welp.
These crazy babies but the emphasis in CRAY-Z on Mondays and Tuesdays.
It is a true struggle to get through the early half of our week with our emotional bandwidth even close to intact, and the angst really boils down to extra-curriculars, extra-commitments, and the time and energy it takes to accomplish all of the above.
I’m not naive. I know our commitments will just compound over time as each kiddo delves into activities and pursuits they enjoy.
I’m not naive. I know our commitments will just compound over time as each kiddo delves into activities and pursuits they enjoy.
And, of course, as they age and their social lives become a bit more self-directed, that aspect of our family calendar will get more complicated, as well.
But for now, with the addition of Little Man in elementary (thus adding a third kiddo’s homework to the mix), Chica picking up school choir along with her pre-existing dance class, the girlies no longer attending dance on the same day (due to scheduling conflicts), and working in a play date with our friends who having equally-complicated schedules…we’ve got about all we can take! And that’s before Little Man’s soccer season kicks in. Oye.
But truly, what has made this first nine weeks of school and extra-curriculars so difficult for our household is the lingering impact of Covid world. And I know I’m not alone in this, as I’ve commiserated with the parents of many elementary-aged kiddos ok this topic.
Basically, our little ones are just having a harder time getting back into the FULL swing of things, which requires them to be far more on-the-go and away-from-home than any of them were accustomed to over the past 18 months. And certainly more than they were accustomed to at the start of the last school year, when they were still virtual schooling, with zero extra activities in the mix.
I know my babies adore all the activities they’re involved in, but the motivation to get them there with a positive attitude has certainly taken its toll on our household.
My kiddos still have the lingering desire to be homebodies and to nest, and it’s been really hard to shove them out of their happy home zone without a lot of kicking and screaming (literal and metaphorical, ha) and get back in our activity groove.
But.
I think we’re finally getting there.
We’ve hit rock bottom on a few occasions and worked through feelings and obstacles and identified ways to tackle our schedule with happier hearts and kinder attitudes.
And I certainly saw an improvement—finally—this week.
I know we’ll still be tacking it all day by day and week by week (and finding bribes and incentives as we go), but I’m grateful for a bit of light at the end of the struggle tunnel. And I’m always grateful to come across other parents who are battling similar re-acclimation angst.
We’ve gone through such a crazy couple of years as a world, and kids are so resilient that, sometimes, the bits of lasting impacts aren’t so obvious.
But just like all the adults out there, we’re making it through, and finding our way again on sometimes wobbly legs.
And every “normal” step we take, especially laden with struggles an angst, seems extra special when we get to a finish line. :)
Happy Tuesday, peeps.
Hard to believe we’re already barreling toward the endish of October, but we’re doing our best to live it ALL up!
Over and out.
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